New York’s seniors, preyed upon

By Joseph Giacalone

New York Daily News|

Oct 30, 2019 | 8:00 AM

A 79-year-old man was chased and beaten by these two young men in Queens, video released Monday shows. (NYPD)

Another week, another senior citizen assaulted on the streets of New York City. The latest attack was in Harlem, where some coward sucker-punched an elderly woman who was leaning on her cane. If you want to be disgusted, watch the video. Anyone capable of doing such a thing has no regard for anyone.

Something is going terrible wrong. According to the NYPD’s own definition, any two incidents with similar likeness make a pattern. I’d say we have a pattern targeting seniors. I’d say this requires a clear, strong statement by the police commissioner and even the mayor.

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Video shows pair of teens assault 79-year-old victim, police said.

Indeed, if politicians are pushing this properly, if cops and prosecutors are looking hard enough, some of these attacks may well be prosecutable under the Penal Law’s definition of hate crimes, which are offenses committed “in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person."

It’s true, sometimes elderly people might be preyed upon because they’re perceived as easy targets. That alone would not a hate crime make; criminals frequently rob those they perceive to be weak and vulnerable. But if there’s any targeting of seniors simply because they’re seniors, any attempt to terrorize the elderly for sport, that’s a different story.

At the very least, the felony charges in these serious assaults must not be dropped to misdemeanors.

When the criminal justice system fails to protect those most vulnerable in society, the elderly and children, we all lose. But where is our leaders’ outrage? Where is the public outrage?

Giacalone is a retired NYPD sergeant, author and current adjunct professor at John Jay College.